Infiltration and Inflow At the Council meeting last Tuesday night, Utility Superintendent Dave Jones and Director of Engineering Keith Schlegel gave us an update on our sewer situation. The two main issues we’re dealing with are Infiltration (cracks in pipes, bad fittings, bad manholes) and Inflow (illegal connections to our sanitary sewer system from sump pumps and downspouts). Recently, the city has been doing smoke testing. By forcing smoke into the system, they can spot issues and illegal hookups. The last tests revealed a large number of violations and deteriorated pipes. They even located nine catch basins that are still connected to the sanitary sewer. During the meeting, Keith showed us video footage from the system that they use to check for obstructions, breakages and bad connections. New Haven’s sewer system was started in the 1920’s. People weren’t as worried then about polluting the rivers or the cost for treatment. It was our hope that when our sewer separation project was completed, we wouldn’t have these issues. It’s much better, but we still have a lot of work to do. Both Keith and Dave are committed to do just that. If you suspect your sump pump or downspout is still connected improperly, please contact Dave at our Utility Department. He’ll be glad to check it out and explain how to make your system legal. With the constantly rising sewage fees we pay to Fort Wayne, this problem is getting more and more expensive. We need to stop sending storm water to Fort Wayne and ultimately paying them to treat it. Single County Executive Referendum On November 4th, you’ll have the opportunity to vote on adopting a single executive model of county government. Last March, Indiana House Bill 1346 was passed authorizing the Allen County referendum on the November Ballot. Allen County has been using the same model of county government for over 100 years. This new idea of how to structure Allen County government is a great idea or a terrible idea depending on who you talk to. If the referendum is passed, this is what will happen: A new County Council and County Executive would be elected in November of 2018. The changes would take effect in January, 2019. The three County Commissioners would be replaced with a single elected official. The County Council would expand from four districts and three at-large seats to nine single-member districts. The County Council would assume legislative powers currently controlled by the County Commissioners. The change is supported by Greater Fort Wayne, Inc., the Regional Chamber of Northeast Indiana and some local business leaders and politicians. Their reasons for wanting the change include making the decision process more efficient, having a clear...

Hello, since my previous blog service was discontinued, I’ve rebuilt the blog. I’m sending this to a list of subscribers that I had saved from this year and propects. If you don’t want the monthly emails, just click on the Unsubscribe button. You can also edit your information if you’d like. Click on “read more” to see this months (and previous) blog. Thanks, Craig

Sorry for the delay in posting updates. I’ve been using GoDaddy since 2008 for blog hosting. They decided earlier this year to discontinue their Blogcast Service. They claim that I received an email, but I never saw the memo. Anyway, on June 25th, my old blog disappeared – along with email addresses of all my subscribers. They were able to recover some of my old posts, but I had to start fresh with a new site. So this is the new and improved New Haven News and Comments. They also lost most of my list of subscribers, so I’ve had to start a new list. If you receive this and don’t want to be on the mailing list (one or two emails a month), just click unsubscribe at the bottom of this page. Road and Sidewalk progress in Scarborough and Arrow Haven Last month, crews came out and marked all the sidewalk segments that needed repair as well as marking utilities and bad curbs. I’ve been asked several times when the work is going to start, so here’s the official timeline. Bids were due to the city by last Thursday (July 10th). The bids will be presented to the Board of Works on Tuesday, July 15th for selection and approval. The successful bidder will be given the “Notice to Proceed” at that meeting. They’ll have to begin work within 30 days. The bidder will have up to 150 calendar days to complete the project, but it should be done before that time limit because the asphalt plants typically close for the season around Thanksgiving. So look for construction by the middle of August. Exciting Expansion News from Continental Diamond Tool For the second time in two and a half years, Continental Diamond Tool located at 1221 Hartzell Street in New Haven, has announced plans to expand its existing facilities. Founded in 1973, Continental Diamond Tool specializes in the design, manufacture, and application of diamond cutting and grinding products and services for industries including medical, oil and gas, automotive, aerospace, and electronics. Continental Diamond Tool will invest $400,000 to add 7,000 square feet of manufacturing space and 7,000 square feet of office space. This additional square footage will allow for the purchase and installation of $3.375 million in new manufacturing equipment including CNC Lathes, mold presses, and inspection equipment. At present, the company employs 57 people. Over the next 5 years they plan to hire 47 additional people in manufacturing, sales, management, and clerical positions. Through New Haven Print, I’ve been working with Deb and Ray Viggiano for the past 20 to 30 years – printing their catalogs and spec sheets. They have expanded a huge amount during that time...

Sidewalk/Street Repairs in Scarborough and Arrow Haven You might have noticed the spray paint on the sidewalks, streets and curbs in the Lakes of Scarborough and Arrow Haven additions. The city is planning to re-pave our streets this summer. The sidwalks are marked because due to ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) regulations, the sidewalks have to meet safety standards before we can re-pave the streets. Anywhere there’s more than 1/4″ difference in height, the sidewalk section is determined to be a trip hazard and must be taken out and replaced. The marks are for the engineers to locate and draw out the plans. Actual construction should start soon. After the sidwalks are completed, the streets will be started. They will grind a couple inches off the existing pavement and lay down fresh pavement. It will be really nice when it’s done. It’s hard to believe some parts of Scarborough are over 28 years old now. I still remember walking into an empty field and trying to picture what Scarborough would look like. Jane and I purchased our home in the first section built. That was 1987. Now there are 388 homes in Scarborough and Ashford Lakes. The goal is to complete Scarborough and Arrow Haven this Summer although it might run into next year’s construction season Newsletters and Blogs Thanks for reading this blog. I’ll publish it least monthly, but more often if there’s something important going on in New Haven. A great place for up-to-date information in New Haven is located at www.newhavenbulletin.com. Our neighbor Bob Nelson publishes this internet newsletter. It’s full of local stories, photos and school information. I’ve made it a habit to check it every morning. Garage Sales Coming Up Soon The annual Lakes of Scarborough and Ashford Lakes Association Garage Sale will be on Friday and Saturday – May 30th & 31st. Like always, we do the garage sale on the weekend before the start of Canal Days. Several other Association have their garage sales at the same time. Pinestone’s is scheduled for that same time and I’d be glad to publish any other neighborhood’s notices – just make a comment to this post. Please be careful driving through the additions on those days. There will be a lot of garage sale fanatics jumping in and out. Sewage Rate Hike City Council voted to pass the rate increase. You’ll notice it on your water bills this summer. I appreciate all the people who came out for the public hearing. Most weren’t happy about the rate increase (the Council Persons weren’t happy about it either), but most everyone understood the reasons for the increase. There were a few people...

Even though it’s officially Spring, New Haven is still way too cold for the end of March. I think we’re all ready for warm temps and things greening up. Sewage Rate Increase coming soon. As much as I hate to say it, the City of New Haven is going to have a significant increase in waste water sewage rates. I’ll try to explain why we have to raise the rates in this blog. If you have any additional questions or concerns, feel free to email me or attend the public hearing at the next City Council Meeting. It will be held on April 8th, at 7:00 p.m. in the City of New Haven Administration Building. If you live in the city of New Haven, you’ll be receiving a mailing explaining the increases in the next couple days. Sorry this story is so long, but it’s a complicated situation. We rely on the City of Fort Wayne to supply us with drinking water and waste water treatment. The reason sewage rates have to increase is because Fort Wayne has passed along significant increases each of the past 5 years. The last time New Haven increased it’s rates was in 2007 (because of a large rate increase from Fort Wayne in 2006 and the fact that we had to pay for the bonds financing New Haven’s sewer separation project). In 2007, we paid Fort Wayne $1,015,770 to process our waste water. In 2013, we paid them $1,658,152. That’s an increase of $642,000 for basically the same services – AND the sewage fees charged by New Haven to residents were down by $55,437 over that same time period. It’s not hard to see why we can’t continue to operate like this. The Indiana Department of Environmental Management (IDEM) limits the amount of sewage discharged into the rivers. Failing to do this results in fines and limits on future development. That’s one of the reasons we completed the sanitary/storm sewer separation here in New Haven. Fort Wayne is finally just starting their separation project – so they’re increasing their rates to pay for it. Unfortunately, we don’t see any end to their rate increases in the future. We’ve done studies to see if building a sewage treatment plant in New Haven would be economically viable. So far, it’s not. We have made preliminary plans to build a overflow treatment plant in order to comply with IDEM’s mandates. That would only operate during heavy rain events, but it would eliminate any sewage releases into the river. We have some time before having to start that, but we had to submit a long term update plan for the city. Any money left over after paying...

It looks like Spring might actually make an appearance soon. It’ll be nice to see something other than snow on the ground. As the weather improves, we’ll start to see more activity in New Haven. I’ll try to keep you up to date, and please feel free to ask questions or comment on anything going on in New Haven. February 25th Council Meeting City Council passed an ordinance dealing with portable storage containers. This ordinance originally contained both residential and commercial restrictions, but Council asked for the commercial sections to be removed – the majority of Council thought it would be burdensome and restricting for commercial properties. The Planning Commission came back with a recommendation that we approve the ordinance as originally written. Council voted for the ordinance without the commercial sections and it was passed. Although I do think we need some rules for commercial use, I didn’t like the fact that businesses would have to plead their case with the Board of Zoning Appeals in order to continue to do business as they have for years – without any complaints. Hopefully, we can come to an agreement on Commercial/Industrial use that Council can live with. Until then, at least we have restrictions now on the use of storage containers in the residential areas. The new rules state that one storage container/dumpster is allowed for a maximum of 45 consecutive days per any 12 month period. That can’t be larger than 8 feet wide, 40 feet long and 8-1/2 feet high. If a container needs to be placed on a public right-of-way, permission will need to be granted by New Haven’s Engineering Department. Those containers will be required to have lighted barricades at each end. If the container is needed during the construction of a primary residence, or is associated with an approved construction site – it can remain up to 6 months. State Business Personal Property Tax Elimination. The Council approved a resolution from the New Haven Mayor stating that we are not in favor of eliminating the Business Personal Property Tax. While it sounds like a great plan for attracting new businesses and industry to Indiana, it would seriously affect city government and services. The Indiana General Assembly is considering the bill right now. If they do pass the tax elimination, they’ll most likely have to replace it with some other type of tax – and there haven’t been any great ideas (in my opinion) on how to make that work. As a business owner, I’d love for my business taxes to go down – but I won’t support an elimination of a tax that helps fund local governments without alternative funding. It will be interesting...

Hello Neighbors: Hope you’re having a great 2014 so far – Spring has to be here soon! The purpose of this blog is to give you as much information on what’s going on in the City of New Haven as possible. AND, I’d appreciate feedback on the issues we’re dealing with. There is rarely an issue where there aren’t two sides involved. I want to make decisions that represent District 3’s residents and what’s best for New Haven. You can comment on the articles, or bring up issues of your own. The blog is moderated (comments won’t appear instantly) and we won’t allow personal attacks, or nonsense. You can visit the blog at any time (www.craigdellinger.com), or you can subscribe. When you subscribe (free), you’ll receive an email with new posts and comments as they come out. You can also email me personally at cdellinger@newhavenin.org or call my cell phone at (260) 460-7161 for questions or comments. Happenings at City Council . . . The most controversial ordinance now being discussed is about Portable Storage Containers. We had issues in the past where residences would have a storage container in their driveways for over a year. This inconvenienced their neighbors and was an eyesore. The proposed ordinance would limit the number of days the containers can be used, and the engineering department would have to approve the placement. When the ordinance was first proposed, it included sections that affected commercial and industrial sites also. A business could apply for a zoning variance which would allow them to use whatever number of containers they need. This variance would cost $300.00 and require the Board of Zoning Appeals to rule on it. This variance could be stated to last as long as ownership isn’t changed in the business. The City Council thought that since we hadn’t had any issues (so far) with businesses, we’d remove that section from the ordinance. The Planning Commission came back with a recommendation to leave the business sections in. That’s where the controversy comes in. Personally, I’d like to have some controls placed on storage units for commercial businesses, but I don’t want to burden the businesses with more taxes and regulations. We haven’t come to a compromise yet and most likely the ordinance will be approved without the business/commercial section included in it – or voted down entirely. The next vote on this ordinance will be on February 25th. New addition to be proposed. This Tuesday night (February 18th), the Planning Commission will hear a proposal to plot a new residential housing addition off of Seiler Road. The entrance would be directly across the street from the Shoreline Blvd. Ashford Lakes entrance. Originally, the plans...

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My name is Craig Dellinger. I created this blog as a way to communicate with my neighbors and to receive their feedback and input on community issues. I'm the 3rd District City Councilman in New Haven, as well as the President of New Haven Print. I'm also the current President of the Lakes of Scarborough / Ashford Lakes Community Association.